However, does the online application system come out around the same time for all of them? Out of; College of Law (Birmingham), Manchester Met, Nottingham Law School and BPP Law School (Leeds), which one is better and why?
Are league tables really that important? My aim is to attend the open days and judge for myself. However, in the mean time, are any of you at one of these institutions? What are the pros and cons??

However, does the online application system come out around the same time for all of them? Out of; College of Law (Birmingham), Manchester Met, Nottingham Law School and BPP Law School (Leeds), which one is better and why?
Are league tables really that important? My aim is to attend the open days and judge for myself. However, in the mean time, are any of you at one of these institutions? What are the pros and cons??

Thanks in ad

It's my understanding that Chambers don't give a hoot about where you do it as far as quality of teaching is concerned- they're all equally good (or bad, if you think that way). What Chambers do care about if they're outside of London is commitment to the region- I think the most important thing for you to think about is where you want to practice eventually as that's where you should be going for your BPTC. This isn't just to show commitment- it's for your own good too- many of the people who teach you on the BPTC are barristers and many of the tutors are ex-barristers so you have an opportunity to make questions/ask experienced people about the x circuit and x chambers.

Another strong consideration is money- London costs around £17,000, MMU and Nottingham are around £11,500- the rest are somewhere in between. This is a considerable difference and provides a strong incentive to go outside of London. Note that if you're outside of London you're away from the cultural life that your Inn can offer- ease of doing your Qualifying Sessions, ease of going to random lectures given by Law Lords, ease of being part of the Inn's x society. There are things available for those not based in London but it's not quite the same, however I don't really think this cultural life is worth £7,500 plus London expenses.

Within London I've heard good things about Kaplan (not sure what you're on about with 2010 applications though- I presume it's some lazy copy and pasting)- they have their own, fairly rigorous aptitude test and only take on candidates who they think have good prospects of pupillage. The effect of this is that you do your BPTC around the best and the brightest, who are generally good people to be around and to be learning how to be a barrister with.

All providers are on the online application system and you apply to them at the same time.

Finally- league tables are not particularly important. I see them as a reflection of the quality of applicants that the provider admits, rather than the quality of teaching but I could be wrong on this.

(Original post by Ewok)
It's my understanding that Chambers don't give a hoot about where you do it as far as quality of teaching is concerned- they're all equally good (or bad, if you think that way). What Chambers do care about if they're outside of London is commitment to the region- I think the most important thing for you to think about is where you want to practice eventually as that's where you should be going for your BPTC. This isn't just to show commitment- it's for your own good too- many of the people who teach you on the BPTC are barristers and many of the tutors are ex-barristers so you have an opportunity to make questions/ask experienced people about the x circuit and x chambers.

Another strong consideration is money- London costs around £17,000, MMU and Nottingham are around £11,500- the rest are somewhere in between. This is a considerable difference and provides a strong incentive to go outside of London. Note that if you're outside of London you're away from the cultural life that your Inn can offer- ease of doing your Qualifying Sessions, ease of going to random lectures given by Law Lords, ease of being part of the Inn's x society. There are things available for those not based in London but it's not quite the same, however I don't really think this cultural life is worth £7,500 plus London expenses.

Within London I've heard good things about Kaplan (not sure what you're on about with 2010 applications though- I presume it's some lazy copy and pasting)- they have their own, fairly rigorous aptitude test and only take on candidates who they think have good prospects of pupillage. The effect of this is that you do your BPTC around the best and the brightest, who are generally good people to be around and to be learning how to be a barrister with.

All providers are on the online application system and you apply to them at the same time.

Finally- league tables are not particularly important. I see them as a reflection of the quality of applicants that the provider admits, rather than the quality of teaching but I could be wrong on this.

People and expenses. So it's just 1 form? We obviously need to choose our choices on the BPTC online form. For Manchester Met, the form comes out in November apparently, is it the same for the other institutions? It's better to apply in the first round, by January? As for kind of questions, they ask about Mini Pupillages, work exp, why the Bar, any other questions?? How long is it? Thanks for the advice